Bernadette Deddens is a London-based accessories designer who views accessories as props that can add small-scale drama to daily life. Her work is playful and often has multiple narratives, requiring interaction by the user. For instance, a necklace that begins by mimicking a checkered linoleum floor but that can be transformed by the wearer into hundreds of configurations, or a bracelet that is both sculpture and bracelet. Check out her shoe accessories after the jump - it’s a great collection of add-ons that dress up the shoes that you already have.

I’m mixed on how to feel ~ so watch it and share your opinions. Improv Everywhere ~ they get large groups together and go… take off their shirts in Abercrombie, carry DESKTOPS into Starbucks, wear blue shirts into Best Buy, and even froze time at Grand Central Station (embedded on next page in case you’ve missed it!)… and NOW… Taco Bell loved the concept so much, they hired Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere to pull off the latest prank at the grand opening of the Taco Bell in Flushing. It’s hilarious watching the reactions of the people (video on next page!) - and a bit sad to watch that being frozen for a few seconds, there are people who are already poking at you, eating your food, and cutting you in line! So… thoughts? I think its great to see guys like Charlie getting paid to do what they are already doing so well! And great exposure to share the fun with people who may not be up on their internet memes… and nice to have some entertaining adverts… but i’m not sure, how do you guys feel about these corporate virals?

My fascination with porcelain and the way light dances in and off of it has yet to subside… latest to catch my eye was in C magazine, the Lynn Lanterns from Williams Sonoma Home. “Hand cut in a beehive motif, our lanterns cast light and shadow in lacy patterns on tabletops and terraces. The glazed white porcelain has tea-stained wicker handles and removable bottoms that allow for easy placement and lighting of candles. Candles not included.” See larger image on the next page.

My brain isn’t quite sure how to handle it when two completely separate obsessions merge ~ today i was on Dezeen and it was Olivia Lee’s “Limited Edition Designer Dolls” ~ bringing together my love of toys and designers - who are now like designer super heroes?

ZAHA! Empress of Architecture! KARIM! King of Plastic! JAIME! Chief of Ceramic!

I want them all. I also want the animated series to come out… Olivia’s site says: Have you ever bought something only because it was ‘designer’ regardless of practicality or cost? Do you faithfully attend the various furniture fairs around the world from Milan to Shanghai? Do you have a favourite designer? Do words like Icon, Blueprint and Wallpaper mean more to you than a random string of nouns? If so, then welcome to The Cult of Design.

Limited Edition Designer Dolls pokes fun at the Design cognescenti. By carefully studying the visual languages and distinct personalities of some of the Design world’s most formidable designers, this project is an observation of how designer personalities are literally becoming synonymous with the objects they design.

Not sure about you ~ but “pokes fun”? I think it’s more like it embraces the obsession, and creates even MORE for design lovers to buy. See more pics of them in the making, packaging, sketches, etc on the next page!

Karma Balls! I am in love with the packaging for these Nike Karma Golf Balls ~ apparently, for the golfers, these are more forgiving on slower swings - they are ” Nike’s softest compression ball designed for added feel and distance.” You can read a review on the balls from 07 over at The Sand Trap… i discovered this fun grassy/cardboardy/vectory packaging over on BeSportier. Larger image on next page!

When Urban Daddy ~ mentioned that these “luxury teepees in the Yukon” has Solar-Powered DVD Players, i had to look twice. And any location with wifi is immediately flagged for me as somewhere i can work from! But aren’t solar dvd players a bit much? So i had to research more to see what life in a luxury teepee suite are like… (pictures on the next page!). And its looking pretty sweet! They even have outhouses that compost…

These luxury teepees are one of the few options available from Perfect Earth Tours - other options including their spa and log cabins. As for the specifics on the Teepees: “Each of our guest Teepees are furnished with two queen sized luxury beds and bedding. We exclusively use mattresses, bedding’s, linen and accessories from the worlds most luxurious organic suppliers. The rooms also include an individual sitting and reading area, a fireplace center piece, personal dresser, original art, complimentary stocked bar, a variety of non - alcoholic drinks, a vanity table, two DVD players with wireless headsets, satellite radio and wireless internet access. First of all, each teepee has their very own personal “outhouse”. They are state of the art organic composting toilets with absolutely no similarity to the old fashioned “outhouse”. They are odorless and extremely easy to use, just like your your toilet at home.” I’m so intrigued! See more pics on the next page…

“In his former life as a tracker of dangerous game in the unforgiving Australian outback, the Sniper would spend months by himself. Prolonged isolation taught him a valuable lesson: You don’t have to rely on other people if you never miss.”

On gorgeous video games, and teaser vids ~ loving this one of The Sniper for Valve’s Team Fortress 2! Nothing like this rational animated aussie sniper… Watch it on the next page…

Woohoo! Viral videos finally have better quality, are more thought out, and have great music. Ok, so i’ve been waiting for this day for a while, and i’m glad we’ve entered into that era lately… Moving along… Let’s kick off this monday with the viral set of Levi’s genius… First - they gave us “Guys backflipping into jeans” (SO good). Second - came “Super chill monkey does Hollywood” (I can see how it works for some people…)…

And today i’m excited to show you the third - “Guys fill their jeans with helium”! Yes, jeans, duct tape, and helium… add a dash of some awesome music (the song “YADNUS” by Chk Chk Chk)… some playful guys… toss them in downtown LA… finish off with the creatives at UnbuttonedFilms… and *poof* the perfect viral for Monday, which i suppose is in a way a backwards sunday! SO, without further ado, click to the next page to see all three vids!

p.s.
well produced ridiculousness is far too fun to get me going this morning!

The Ojon Rare Harvest Takawa “Ball” - as it popped up on Sephora, and all around the beauty sites, the stock photos of it intrigued me to no end… I needed to know how they packaged that ~ what it was ~ and ultimately, what does it feel like to rub what is essentially a giant dark chocolate ball on your body like a mud mask???

SO, i bought one for NOTCOT’s sake ~ to indulge and share my curiosity with you. The packaging is awesome, from the cardboard tube, to the saturn/ufo looking molded papery holder, to the foil wrapped baseball sized cacao ball, to the wooden bowl (made in china)… its not to be missed! So it has definitely won me over as far as packaging and presentation/experience - and after trying it out in the shower, my skin feels pretty amazing as well… so full unpackaging walk through on the next page, as well as more info/vids on what it actually is!

Yes, i’ve been a bit quiet the last few days ~ and the last week or so i’ve been flickering in and out of posting spurts ~ but as i’m sure you know by now, the foodie stuff has been eating into my mental and posting energy, and learning about legal quickly and making business decisions - and pretty much catching up on what everyone else seems to have learned in mba/jd programs, has been a bit exhausting! But today ended up being a perfect complete break from that. In this socal heatwave, we stuck to the beach, cruising further up the coast through Malibu up to Point Dume, where we found ourselves with about 100 others to celebrate the big birthday of the incredible Rose Apodaca at the houses of Fred and Betty Hayman (of Giorgio Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive legend) which are at the point of Point Dume, and the two houses overlook one of the most spectacular views in all of LA. On such a gorgeous day ~ we were able to get my favorite joy ride up PCH, run around with friends old and new - sharing in a wonderful (and impressively large) pan of paella - sitting out on blankets on the grassy lawn - wandering down to the beach to run around in the surprisingly warm waters - finding starfish/crabs/anemones and other critters - and really it always just came back to that view - staring out so far along the coastline and out at the horizon…

Anyhow, the break, the location, and catching up with people i was long overdue to see - was apparently JUST what i needed to snap out of the stressed funk i was finding myself in, and on the drive back i think i’m finally getting a better sense of where we’re going with NOTCOT, and ultimately, learning to think about that “business” stuff a bit better! SO, just for a fun 5:30am (sunrise is GORGEOUS today!) post ~ here’s a peek at the views and scene that were Saturday.

Click the images to find out more! Today is a scorcher up and down California ~ Linhchi (SF) and i (LA) are dying in the heat, and i’m about to head out to Point Dume (where unfortunately that amazing Iron Man house fictitiously exists) for a birthday bash… but while we were trying to figure out what to wear to beat this weather and still look good… we though a proper roundup was in order! So top row we have sun dresses and shorts for the ladies, middle is sandals and sunglasses ~ and bottom row is all boys! If you feel like contributing to the cause, come add your summer survival wear to NotCouture!

Hey everyone, sorry i got quiet ~ legal messes aren’t quite my specialty. And how odd that doing a roundup of the popular stuff from the last week is filled with Crying Men portraits, girls getting things “dumped” on them, crazy futuristic architecture, ikea’s pop up apt in a box, and i LOVE those spacey looking images of bubbles and real images of space! It’s been an odd week, but almost through it ~ so apologies for slowing down here… but i have lots of fun stuff to post coming up, just a few more things to take care of! So please feel free to click through any of these pics to find out more, and check out .org and NotCouture for more inspiration… also feel free to take a sneak peek at my unlaunched new project where i’m drowning my sorrows at the moment.

Incase always has the best packaging experiences… as much as i love their products, opening the press packs they send always leave me giddy all day. Today they sent over these new Incase iPod Touch Slider Cases - in the starburst like colors of Summer Rose, Rummer Red, and Summer Orange - these were wrapped in tissue paper, tucked with giant paint chip like info cards in black Incase envelopes, which fit perfectly on some padding in the gift box… and on top of that was a card with their motto when you opened the box: “A better experience through good design.” *swoon*. I love these guys… living up to a motto like that makes them a pleasure to interact with. The cases are great - they are incredibly thin but durable plastic - with my favorite soft touch rubberized coating! So take a peek at the unboxing pics and close ups on the next page… and keep an eye out for these to be available on their website! (Currently you can only find the black and white high gloss ipod touch slider cases)

Classic Italian yacht maker, Riva, (yes, the ones that you can stick a Lamborghini engine in) teams up with Veuve Clicquot in their latest beautiful design collaboration, that makes me dream of living the dolce vita lifestyle, and has me desperately yearning to hop a plane back to Italy to relax on Lago di Como.

They have launched La Grande Dame by Riva Collection which includes three products in mahogany, chrome and leather - the Cruise Collection, Cruiser Bag, and ice bucket ~ the Cruise Collection contains 4 bottles of La Grande Dame 98, 2 magnums of La Grande Dame 88, 6 champagne flutes Riedel and 6 water tumblers, plates, table mats and cutlery ~ the Cruiser Bag contains a bottle of La Grande Dame 98 and two champagne flutes. Full photo spread to help you fantasize about the Riva/Veuve Clicquot lifestyle on the next page… as well as some background on the incredible story of Riva… and i found some amazing original sketches of the various Riva boats over the last 40 years worth taking a peek at!

p.s.
no, i’m not condoning drinking and boating ~ have a designated driver?

NOTCOT Note: Here’s a fun find from Anna over at Sub-Studio ~ and a HUGE congrats to her, on taking the plunge to give up the day job, and take Sub-Studio full time! We’re so excited for her!

Mystake is a new brand by Dima Komissarov of Plus Minus (#061). The presentation of the brand reminds me of Atypyk - cheeky one-liners that are polished and pretty.

The Candle Bulb Candle, as Dima writes on his website, “looks like a candle bulb, but it’s not a bulb, it’s a candle, which looks like…you know”. Modeled after the old chandelier candle bulbs - I would love to have a chandelier over my dining table that could take one of these. Mostly, I’m just really into the idea of a candle modeled after a bulb. I’d love to see this series expanded into a bunch of different bulb types (compact fluorescents, anyone?).